Published on Tuesday, March 18, 2026
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Laura Fernández-Delgado received her credentials as the next president of Costa Rica at the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in San José.

The official document confirms the result of the Presidential Elections that took place in February, Fernández was elected the country’s 50th president for the 2026–2030 term. She won 48% of the vote, avoiding a runoff.  

Her Sovereign People’s Party, known by its Spanish acronym PPSO, is a center-right party founded in 2025 that supports continuing the policies of the President Rodrigo Chaves-Robles administration.

In her speech, Fernández sent a powerful message to drug traffickers and criminals, saying, "I want to send a clear, direct, and unequivocal message to organized crime and drug trafficking: I'm coming for you. We don't want you in Costa Rica. We will not allow you to continue causing pain to our people."

 

Fernández will officially take office on May 8, 2026, when she is sworn in and begins her four-year term, which runs through May 8, 2030.

The Elected President previously served as minister of National Planning and Economic Policy from 2022 to 2025 and as minister of the Presidency from 2024 to 2025. Both positions were appointed by the current President, Rodrigo Chaves.

She is set to become the second woman president in Costa Rica’s history. The country’s first female president was Laura Chinchilla, who served from 2010 to 2014.

In addition to Fernández, the two Elected Vice Presidents, Francisco Gamboa and Douglas Soto, also received their credentials.

The Tribunal also granted credentials to the 57 newly elected deputies, who will comprise Congress, effective May 1, 2026, and concluding on April 30, 2030.

Recently, Fernández, as part of the President Chaves delegation, attended the swearing-in ceremony of José Antonio Kast, who took office as Chile’s 38th president.

Fernández also participated in the Shield of the Americas Summit held at the Trump National Doral Miami Golf Resort in the United States.

Costa Rica has one of the longest continuous presidential democracies in the Western Hemisphere, with more than 75 years of uninterrupted, free and transparent elections since the 1948 civil war.

The country is a democratic republic with a strong system of constitutional checks and balances. Executive authority is vested in the president, who serves alongside two vice presidents and a 15-member Cabinet. The president and the 57 members of the Legislative Assembly are elected to four-year terms.

The electoral process is overseen by the independent Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which consists of three principal magistrates and six alternates appointed by the Supreme Court of Justice.

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